


This Ink is forever you know

by TheEagleFox



Series: Moments in a Lifetime [2]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Birthday Presents, Dogs, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Forehead Kisses, Foreplay, Holding Hands, Implied Sexual Content, Kirumi's cooking, Kissing, Light Smut, M/M, Making Out, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Spoilers, Oma Kokichi's Birthday, Playing video games, Tattoos, changed rating to M for the last scene, just to be safe even if not explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 18:57:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15007271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEagleFox/pseuds/TheEagleFox
Summary: Kokichi glances over at Shuichi with a worried look “Hey babe you don’t have to do this just because it’s my birthday, I’m fine with getting a tattoo by myself.” This wasn't a lie in the slightest; he honestly didn’t want Shuichi getting a tattoo because he felt that he had to for his boyfriend.“But Kokichi I already said I’m ok with doing it.”“Are you really sure though Shuichi? Once you get a tattoo its permanent, as in its not coming off so easily!” he emphasizes in an attempt to get his point across to the detective.“Yeah I know,” Shuichi reaches out to close the space separating the two of them to interlock the boy’s fingers with his own “and I wouldn’t have it any other way."OrShuichi and co make sure Kokichi has a great birthday.





	This Ink is forever you know

**Author's Note:**

> So fair wairning, this takes place in the same universe as my other fic "For a Lifeime", about a year after the final chapter of that story. Unfortunately there may be small spoilers for future plot points I have planned for the story so I apologize for getting ahead of myself! 
> 
> I wanted to make a fic for Kokichi's birthday and my mind immediately went to setting it in the FaL canon lol

When Kokichi woke up this morning he was greeted by a barrage of text messages, phone calls, and voicemails from his brothers, parents, theatre friends, hometown friends, and of course the friends he made from the killing game. They were the type of messages one usually gets from their family and friends on special days like this.

 

**_Gentle Giant: Kokichi! Gonta want to wish you a happy birthday! Have lots of fun, ok?_ **

****

**_walking fleshlight: ‘Sup ya little shit! Make sur Shu-weenie gives you a good brthday fuckin’ tonite or I’ll be pssed!! PICS OR IT DIDN’T FCKIN HAPPN AHAHAHAHA!!!!_ **

****

**_Purple Soul Sister: 19 huh? Having you as a friend in the theatre department is always soooo much fun! Happy birthday Kokichi :D_ **

****

**_Mom: Your father and I wish you a happy birthday sweetie. If you do anything with your friends tonight please be careful…can’t wait until your back home with us, love you :)_ **

****

**_Used to be a Toaster: Happy birthday Kokichi! Hopefully whatever you have planned for today goes well._ **

****

**_a Killer lives in my phone!!:….happy birthday…._ **

 

**_Bulba-head: Hey Leader happy birthday! When you get back ya better believe we’re all challenging ya to some chess, and I’M kickin’ your ass for sure haha!!! Have a good one Kichi!_ **

 

Yup, today was his 19th birthday and now he was one more year away from full-fledged adulthood.

 

_Hooray_

Though he was initially grumpy upon _not_ finding Shuichi still in bed with him, thereby canceling his initial plans of the two of them cuddling until the afternoon, Kokichi’s mood brightens when his boyfriend re-enters the bedroom to give him a good morning kiss, adding a loving “Happy Birthday, Kokichi” when their lips separate. 

 

Noticing that Shuichi was (terribly) hiding a present behind his back, Kokichi pulls out the puppy dog face and works his magic to start making his violet eyes water on command “Is my beloved really trying to keep a present away from me on my _birthday_?” And commencing the crocodile tears in three…two…”WAAAAAAAHHHHH! SHUICHI IS THE WORST BOYFRIEND EVVVEEERRR!!” Even with his eyes shut the trickster gets the feeling Shuichi is rolling his eyes at how ridiculous he’s being, having adapted to his boyfriend’s mannerisms in the seven months they’ve been dating.

 

Turns out a tiny flick to the forehead (resulting in an overdramatic “oww”) followed by a swiftly-placed kiss on the lips is the best way of silencing the birthday boy “Oh quiet you,” Shuichi chuckles “go on and open your gift already.”  

 

The tears stop almost as quickly as they started “Well if you insist I _guess_ I’ll open your present Shuichi.” his words may be smug but his smile is the kind that shows up when Shuichi does something that warms his heart, which happens more often than one might think. After carefully tearing off the gold-striped wrapping paper Kokichi is met with what looks like a plain cardboard box. Taking Shuichi’s keys from the nightstand to cut off the tape holding down the box’s flaps, Kokichi opens it to find a pile of tissue paper in various shades of purple. He turns over to his boyfriend and feigns tiredness “You know Shuichi, opening a present shouldn’t be _this_ much work! I’m starting to think that the gift is a lie!”

 

“You’re almost there trust me,” he smiles back but then shifts to rubbing the back of his head nervously “I…I just hope you like.”

 

Moving around the sheets of tissue paper Kokichi is finally able to see his gift. He looks over at Shuichi like he was completely blown away and starts lifting the gift out of its box.

 

It was the medium-sized Mimikyu plushie they had seen at the mall a couple of weeks ago, but this one is wearing a scarf reminiscent to the checkered one he’s known for wearing with a small clown mask hanging from one of its ears. Gasping at the amount of effort his boyfriend put into the gift (on top of how damn adorable the thing looked) Kokichi brings the plushie close to his chest and squeezes it tight. He looks over at Shuichi with a wide grin “Awww Shuichi I love it, thank you!” he crawls over to the boy sitting on the bed, pinning him down to give him a well-deserved kiss “And I love you for going the extra mile with the details too!”

 

Shuichi wraps his arm around the smaller boy’s back “I love you too, and I’m always willing to do anything I can to make you happy,” he leans down to leave a kiss on Kokichi’s forehead, causing him to blush “but for your special day I have to be sure to go that extra mile!”

 

“Woow you’re sooo~ cheesy! Nishishi, but I love ya for it anyway babe!” He glances down expectantly at the plushie sitting between himself and Shuichi “And I think I know where this little guy is going when we move in to our new place!”

 

To think they’d officially be living together in a few months, it was such a big step for the two of them but they were both ready to start on this new chapter in their lives. “Right, well we can talk about that later, right now you need to get dressed; Rantaro said the girls wanted to have a little breakfast get together for you birthday. I know it’s still early but we don’t want to get stuck in traffic.”            

 

Not wanting to change out of the shirt his boyfriend lent him to sleep in  Kokichi dives back under Shuichi’s bed sheets, still gripping onto his present as he stares back at his boyfriend “Awww~ can’t we just be lazy and cuddle on the couch all day??”

 

In response Shuichi pulls the sheets off of him, violet eyes pout in his direction “Kokichi we weren’t in contact at the time so I missed you birthday last year, now that we’re together I don’t plan on missing any more of them.” Shuichi scoots closer to him on the bed, taking Kokichi’s hands in his own “Besides you even told me not much happened for your birthday; you just invited your brother and a few friends over to Rantaro’s house while he and his family were on vacation in Italy. So we’re going to spend the day together and I’m going to make sure you have fun today, it’s my job as your boyfriend to do so!”

 

“When you pull out your dorky smile like that how could I possibly say no?” He leans forward to give Shuichi a playful peck on the lips “Alright, give me five minutes and I’ll be ready ok?”

 

“I’ll go get the car started, see you in a few.” And with that Shuichi exits the room. True to his word, Kokichi changes into a simple purple t-shirt, some white shorts, and his checkered-pattern sneakers within a minute or two. As he adds the piece de resistance, his signature checkered scarf, to his outfit he stares at the Mimikyu plushie on the bed with a smile on his face.  

 

_I wonder what today will have in store for me?_

With that thought in mind Kokichi leaves the apartment, being mindful to lock it, and makes his way over to Shuichi to get this day started.

 

* * *

 

Ten minutes later the two arrive at Rantaro’s house and after ringing the doorbell Kokichi is greeted with several birthday wishes from Rantaro, Kaede, and Kirumi. Not only that, but Kirumi has already prepared the dining room table with various breakfast foods for the five of them to enjoy. Even outside the simulation Kirumi was no slouch when it came to her cooking: stacks of chocolate chip pancakes, French toast, strawberry crepes, fluffy Italian omelets, and sausage links were on the menu for Kokichi’s birthday breakfast and no one was complaining.   

 

Even if it isn’t the first time it’s happened, Kokichi still thinks it’s really refreshing having Kirumi eat _with_ them as opposed to _watching_ them eat for a change. Judging from what the group had on their plates everyone had their different preferences of what they wanted to eat; Kaede piled her plate with all of the sweet breakfast items, Rantaro stuck with a double portion of omelets and sausages (but would also take bites of Kaede’s crepes when she offered), and Kirumi chose a balanced portion of sausages, French toast, and omelets. Meanwhile him and Shuichi got a little bit of everything on their plates (despite their sizes the boys could actually eat a _good_ portion of food), but Shuichi had extra toast while he chose extra pancakes. Looking around at his friends and boyfriend enjoying each other’s company Kokichi was already seeing this as a great start to the day and it is definitely better than what he did on his last birthday.

 

Last year Rantaro and his family had left for their flight to Italy the previous night, they insisted he come with them but Kokichi told them that it was a “family thing” and he didn’t want to intrude on it. Rantaro’s parents eventually complied with Kokichi’s request to stay behind when he offered to take care of the house while they were away. When he woke up on his birthday the next morning sure it was nice getting all those calls and texts, but it didn’t feel the same as having someone greet you first thing in the morning. Sure, it was _his_ choice to be away from his family, but he did what he did with everyone’s best interest in mind. So after fixing breakfast for himself, he decided he wouldn’t throw himself a pity party and called up any members of “D.I.C.E” who were free to hang out. When only Hana, Junpei, and Rei told him they were available for the day, Kokichi chose to add Gonta and (against his better judgment) his brother to the invite list. The six of them ended up having a good time; they swam around in the Amami’s pool for a good while, then mooched off Rantaro’s Netflix account to watch a few horrible movies while snacking on the pizzas they ordered. After they finished the cake Kokichi’s brother surprised him with, everyone went home for the night. It was a fun day, but a part of Kokichi still felt like there was something _missing_ ; falling asleep that night was definitely difficult.

 

It seems like he was caught up in his own thoughts because it takes Shuichi kissing him on the cheek to snap him back to reality. “You alright Kokichi? I was asking if you wanted me to take your plate to wash.” Looking down at his plate Kokichi is surprised to find that he had in fact eaten every last piece of food, how long he had done this absentmindedly Kokichi isn’t sure of.

 

Quickly bringing a smile to his face Kokichi does what he can to cover his tracks “Aww that’d be great, thanks Shuichi!” he hands his boyfriend the plate, kissing him on the nose before the boy stands back up. No doubt Shuichi might bring this up later if he’s worried about Kokichi’s level of happiness.

 

Kirumi stands up from her seat, the old habits of the “Ultimate Maid” seemingly kicking in “Rantaro, Kaede would you like for me to take your plates as well?”

 

To answer her Rantaro collects the plates himself “Nonsense Kirumi, just sit down and relax I can take of it!” though seemingly conflicted at first, Kirumi nods back at Rantaro and reclaims her seat next to Kaede. The green haired boy gives Kaede a quick kiss before joining Shuichi in the kitchen.

 

Taking small sips of her orange juice Kaede turns her attention to the small boy across the table “So Kokichi what do you guys have planned for your special day?”

 

“I think a better question would be what did you guys get me for my birthday?”

 

With the look he receives from Kirumi, the birthday boy feels like he’s about to be scolded by his mother “Now Kokichi, while I understand that today is your birthday it does not grant you permission to ask for your gifts in such a rude manner.”

 

Kokichi can only raise an eyebrow when he hears what the former maid is implying “Soooo…you’re saying there _are_ presents for me?”

 

The pianist giggles in response “Well of course there is! But we’re thinking of maybe going out to dinner tonight and giving them to you then so you and Shuichi can spend the day together beforehand!”

 

“Silly Kaede should have just said that to begin with! Well all Shuichi told me is that he’s gonna take me shopping and then he’s got some sort of surprise planned. So we’ll see how that all turns out!”

 

_What could your surprise be though Shuichi Saihara? Nishishi, well I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what you got in store for me my beloved Detective!”_

 

* * *

 

The trip to the mall was short-lived, but plenty still managed to come out of it. Their first stop was to the gaming store, obviously, where Shuichi purchased for Kokichi the new _Catherine_ game he had his eye on for a while. He had never played the original game, but with the overall story and puzzle-solving mechanics it seems like it’d be a game he and Shuichi could enjoy playing together. He also went ahead and purchased a copy of _Kingdom Hearts 3_ for himself; Kokichi had managed to get him interested in the franchise and promised to play the final game together once Shuichi was caught up with all the games. It took awhile given that the past semester was quite busy for the two of them, but Kokichi stayed patient despite the game releasing _months_ ago. They mostly window shopped in the other stores unless Kokichi found a figure or piece of clothing he liked; Shuichi ended up purchasing a chibi figure of a white-haired wizard in a long black coat (he thinks it’s from an RPG?) and a black cap with a checkered-pattern bill for Kokichi as gifts.

 

When they decide to make a pit stop at the food court Shuichi purchases parfaits for the two of them, a cool and refreshing treat for this kind of summer weather (despite the two of them being indoors). In the middle of enjoying their treats Kokichi spots a pair of people approaching them from his peripheral. Without being too obvious he fixes his gaze to the side, signaling Shuichi to spot the figures as well. The two look to be young adults, likely older than him and Shuichi, with one being a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes and the other being a taller boy with glasses and shaggy light brown hair.

 

“U-Um…e-excuse me?” the blonde girl asks hesitantly.

 

_“Oh great…”_ he and Shuichi seem to think simultaneously, but do their best to not look too annoyed. They could only assume these strangers were _aware_ of who he and Shuichi are, but even after two years since the ending of _Danganronpa_ going out in public can still be very nerve wracking for any of the participants of season 53. Kokichi categorizes those familiar with _Danganronpa_ “characters” into three basic types: people who love your character, people who hate your character, and people who are indifferent. And each type could have its own sub-branch, like someone liking you in the game but still having common courtesy for you as a human being versus someone who saw you as perfect and attempts to force their love onto you.

 

“What can we do for you?” oh good, Shuichi decided to be the one to break the ice.

 

The girl is a little taken aback at being answered, but regains her composure “Umm, you’re Shuichi Saihara and Kokichi Ouma, right?”

 

“You betcha, so what can we do for you miss? You want autographs, want to exchange contact info, hold us for ransom? We can probably do _two_ of those things for you at best!” he chuckles out, it was his birthday and he wasn’t about to let some obsessive fans ruin his outing with his boyfriend.

 

The people in front of him do something he didn’t account for: laugh it off. This time the boy jumps into the conversation “Nah man it’s nothing like that! My friend and I were just walking through the mall and I thought I saw you and Shuichi so I pointed it out to her!”

 

“Yeah and I remembered that today was your birthday Ouma so I just wanted to stop over and wish you have a nice one today!”

 

It’s a little strange hearing her call him by his last name, but he supposes she’s just trying to be polite.

 

“Anyway, that’s all we came by to say. We realize that you’re probably very hesitant about total strangers approaching you out of the blue, but after we saw what you all had to go through we can’t say we blame you for being cautious of us in the outside world.”

 

“Yeah, the ones who actually got some kind of enjoyment from watching you guys on air are some kind of twisted…for us just _playing_ your experience was heart-aching…” the boy adds in with a frown.

 

“We better go, it was nice to meet to you in person Ouma and you too Saihara!”

 

“Hey wait!” the words are out of his mouth before he even thinks about it “Do you two maybe want to get a picture with me and Shuichi?” he offers, shocking Shuichi and the other two.

 

“Sure!” the friends say in unison. The girl takes out her cell phone, handing it to Kokichi who switches to the “selfie” setting and snaps a good amount of photos after the four of them squeeze into the frame. Waving goodbye to the not-so-crazy fans the boys return to snacking on their parfaits.

 

Shuichi notices Kokichi smiling to himself as he twirls his parfait around in its glass “You know that was a very mature thing you di-“a piece of strawberry is thrown at his nose, silencing him.

 

“Shut up and eat your parfait.” Kokichi embarrassingly does what he just commanded Shuichi to do, earning a laugh from the boy now snacking on the thrown piece of strawberry.

 

* * *

 

 

When Shuichi requested that Kokichi wear a blindfold for the last location they were going the boy instantly got curious. That and he also saw an easy opportunity to mess with his beloved Shuichi “Ooohhh I see what you’re doing Shuichi, my last present is subjecting me to public bondage!” he swears Shuichi nearly slammed on the brakes at that comment “I gotta say that’s very kinky coming from you _Mr. Future Detective_!”

 

“Yes Kokichi, because my last gift to you _would_ be something that’s probably illegal…Oh! But it looks like we’re here! Here, let me get this off…” he reaches over to start undoing the knot from the blindfold, letting it fall on the seat.  

 

With the blindfold finally off Kokichi is finally able to see their location. They were at a shopping plaza with several different businesses spread throughout the strip. The establishment Shuichi had parked in front of bore a neon sign that read “Twisted Needles”, based off the name and logo it was likely a tattoo parlor. Definitely not what Kokichi was expecting, but still…why would Shuichi choose a tattoo parlor of all places? “Ok Shuichi…I’m a little lost here…”

 

“Ah r-right!” Did Shuichi expect him to _not_ ask? Surely this wasn’t a spur of the moment thing, right? “I thought maybe for your final present we could…get matching tattoos…” he awkwardly reaches up to a hat that no longer exists, settling on scratching the back of his head instead.

 

“Matching tattoos? You would…really do that for me Shuichi?”

 

“Of course I would! And you’ve always talked about wanting to get a tattoo someday…so what better day then your birthday?” His suggestion was valid, but Kokichi was still a bit on the fence about it.

 

“But I wouldn’t even know what we’d get.” He was bluffing, there were a couple of ideas he could think of but none were ones he could see Shuichi genuinely agreeing to get.

 

He sees Shuichi reach into his pocket to pull out his phone, pulling up his picture gallery to show him an image he saved “Well what about this?” He was clearly calling Kokichi’s bluff since the boy in question was all too familiar with the photo being displayed- he _had_ sketched it after all.

 

The sketch was of the black and white King chess pieces. The black piece had the initials “SS” on the base in white lettering while the white piece had “KO” on its base in black lettering. It was supposed to show that if only the two king pieces remained in chess the game could go on forever, but in this case each king decided to _belong_ to the other so they wouldn’t have to get rid of the other. They could remain in a stalemate _together_.

 

Kokichi brings a finger to his lip as he cocks his head to the side “W-What about it? I just sketched that cuz I was bored…” it wasn’t a _complete_ lie, he is very proud of that sketch but it wasn’t really planned. But to actually have it as a tattoo…

 

Tattoos are a _forever_ kind of thing…a forever that Kokichi does _want_ but feels like he doesn’t deserve. He actually wouldn’t mind having something as permanent as a tattoo on his own skin, but he wouldn’t want Shuichi to damage his skin for him only to regret it in the future.

 

Shuichi takes a hold of his hand, Kokichi doesn’t try to hide his flushed cheeks like he used to “It’s a good drawing babe, I can tell you put a lot of thought into it. And I couldn’t think of anything better to have as a first tattoo, especially when it just seems kind of _fitting_ of us.” Why does that smile always know how to make Kokichi freeze up and forget how words work? He remains silent as Shuichi guides him to the do the shop “You don’t have to be scared Kokichi, we’re going to be fine.”

 

Oh he was NOT going to take _that_ little remark lightly “Who said anything about me being scared? I’m just preparing myself for when you whine like a little baby when the needle _barely_ touches you! You’re suuuuper delicate babe.” he begins walking faster in order to be the one leading them into the shop.

 

A small bead of sweat drops from Shuichi’s forehead “Umm….well you might not be wrong about that heh heh…”

 

It doesn’t seem like that tattoo parlor has too many clients today since the two of them are able to be seen by one of the artist less than five minutes after they enter the store. Wanting to have their tattoos look as closely identical as possible Shuichi asks the artist if it’d be possible for her to work on him and Kokichi simultaneously; although the artist does inform them it’s possible, she also cautions the couple that it may take a little bit of extra time. She asks for a reference image so that she can create a stencil to be inked which leads to Shuichi handing over his phone with the photo already open.

 

“These are such a cool designs” the artist comments “so who does each of the king pieces go to?”

 

“They are both going to be forearm tattoos” Kokichi points to himself “I’m getting the black king with the white letters on my left arm and he-“ then points to Shuichi “is getting the white king with black letters on his right arm!”

 

“I’ve got you guys covered, just give me a few minutes to get everything ready and we’ll get started!”  

 

The boys lay back in their chairs as the tattoo artists walks over to her station to prepare the needles for both tattoos and starts on the stencil.

 

Kokichi glances over at Shuichi with a worried look “Hey babe you don’t have to this just because it’s my birthday, I’m fine with getting a tattoo by myself.” This wasn't a lie in the slightest; he honestly didn’t want Shuichi getting a tattoo because he felt that he _had_ to for his boyfriend.

 

“But Kokichi I already said I’m ok with doing it.”

 

“Are you _really_ sure though Shuichi? Once you get a tattoo its _permanent_ , as in its not coming off so easily!” he emphasizes in an attempt to get his point across to the detective.

 

“Yeah I know,” Shuichi reaches out to close the space separating the two of them to interlock the boy’s fingers with his own “and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You trust me enough to know I’m being honest with you, don’t you?”

 

Kokichi feels tears form in eyes after hearing the honest truth come from Shuichi, this boy really was something else.  The two of them lean forward to meet the other’s lips as Kokichi wipes away his tears once they pull apart “Of course I trust you Shuichi.”

 

Their artist makes her way back to the couple, her tools and the stencils ready to be used “Alright you guys ready?” the couple nods in unison “Then let’s get started!”

 

The needle pokes at Kokichi’s skin and even if it stings a little he can’t help but smile through the pain.

 

_No turning back now._

 

* * *

 

The entire drive back to the complex they were holding holds while Shuichi had his hand on the steering wheel; even if their tattoos were currently bandaged they still felt like the simple gesture of holding hands was even more special now. As they make their way up to Shuichi’s apartment he reminds his shorter boyfriend that they need to quickly clean their new tattoos and get ready if they want to meet Kaede and the others for the birthday dinner in time.

 

Shuichi hastily fiddles with the doorknob to try and hurry things along, but before Kokichi can get out a witty remark as they enter the apartment the lights suddenly flicker on.

“SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOKICHI!!”

 

Amidst the party streamers and confetti flying at him and party horns sounding off, a light brown corgi dashes across the floor and starts to jump against his knee. Kokichi can’t hide his delight over the guests who came out to celebrate his special day. Kaede’s crew was a no brainer, seems like the whole “dinner” thing was a lie to lure him into a false sense of security and he’s actually impressed at the group managing to trick him. Himiko wanted to come see her ‘fellow short friend’ because she needed a ‘strong source of energy to restore her own’ and because she came Tenko naturally tagged along. Though he was a little happy to hear from her that he was ‘becoming less of a degenerate with each passing year’, he’s also a bit annoyed with how she phrased it.

 

It was rare to see Keebo without ~~the dirty whore~~ Miu attached to his hip, but it does make Kokichi feel a bit better to know that the inventor at least _intended_ to come had she not been busy with work. When greeting his guests he definitely hugs Gonta the longest, with how far the giant man lives he admires Gonta’s determination to come celebrate his friend’s birthday. Kokichi learns that Gonta rode to the city with Keebo so unfortunately he would have to go when Keebo needed to leave for home.  

 

Even with two years passing after the game encounters with his last two guests are just as tense. Maki’s piercing red eyes are just as intense as ever, but she doesn’t meet Kokichi’s gaze as she mumbles out a ‘Happy birthday’ while tugging at one of her pigtails. Kaito, who is now carrying their dog in his arms, seems to ignore the obvious tension between the two entirely when he flashes him that cocky grin of his. “Yo Kichi, happy birthday bro!” Kokichi has to hold in his laughter when he sees that the man hasn’t noticed the corgi licking at his goatee “Just one more year before the boy becomes the man!”       

 

“Y-Yeah…” Kaito was at least _trying_ so it’s only fair for Kokichi to do the same “So, I’m surprised you were allowed to bring Daisy on this little surprise trip, you know how she gets with long car rides.” At hearing her name the dog leaps into Kokichi’s arms, he barely manages to steady himself with the sudden added weight. 

 

Kaito lets out a hearty laugh at the interaction “Heh, well it certainly seems like she doesn’t mind as long as she gets to see you Kokichi. By the way,” Kaito reaches into his back pocket and pulls out what looks like a flash drive “Ken’s really sorry he couldn’t make it, they didn’t give him the days off at his job, but he managed to get a group together to leave a message for ya!”

 

Kokichi puts Daisy down on the floor, seeing her scurry off to go play with Gonta and Himiko, and grabs the drive from Kaito’s hand “Thanks. Do you maybe want to watch it together?”

 

“I think Kirumi and Rantaro are setting up a laptop so you can do that.” Maki chimes in before returning to her conversation with Shuichi, whatever it was.

 

“Yeah we’ll get to the video and your presents in a bit Kichi, but first” he reaches out to grab Kokichi’s wrist, taking the birthday boy by surprise “you gotta show us the sweet ink you and my sidekick got!”

 

Kaede decides to walk over at this point in the conversation “Oh I want to see too! Shuichi wouldn’t budge when I tried pressing him for details!” Out of the corner of his eye he sees Shuichi awkwardly scratch the back of his scalp.

 

Always taking any opportunity to show off, Kokichi pulls Shuichi over and holds up their forearms “Well then, feast your eyes on this awesome ink job!” He pulls off the gauze to expose their fresh tattoos, the skin around the designs still a bit pink from how recent the job was. All the guests (minus Maki) awe at the intricate design of the chess pieces.

 

“Awesome designs you two!” Kaito wraps his arm around Maki’s shoulder, but instead of throwing out her usual ‘do you want to die’ the former assassin merely looks away while trying to conceal her obvious blush “Maki Roll! It looks like my bros are officially a part our tattoo club, cool right?!”

 

“We never made a club, you just made that up on your own…” Kokichi seems to notice that Maki’s already gotten used to that nickname in the real world too.

 

Rantaro waves his hand at the group, grabbing their attention “Laptop is ready you guys, want to play the video Kokichi?”

 

“Go for it.” He hands the drive over as he and the guests settle down in the living room.

 

The video was much like Kaito had described; Ken started off by waving to the camera and wished his younger brother a happy birthday before apologizing for not being able to come see him in person. He then hands the camera over to each member of “D.I.C.E”, who each had their own personal message for their Leader. The video ended with the eight of them holding a giant banner that read “Happy Birthday, Kokichi!” and bore a small doodle of the birthday boy in the topmost corner. The video may have been short, but it was still very heartfelt.

 

With everyone situated in the living room Kokichi suggests they all play the most recent _Smash Bros_ game. It’s no surprise that Maki chooses to sit this activity out, saying that video games aren’t really _her_ thing, but she’s perfectly content with watching everyone while Daisy nestles herself onto her lap. Each round that passes holds its fair share of surprise comebacks (except for Gonta and Himiko who almost always place last): from Rantaro using Link’s Final Smash to seize victory from Kaede and Tenko, to Kokichi knocking out Kirumi with one of Jigglypuff’s well-timed Rest moves, or Kirumi knocking out both Kaito and Shuichi with Palutena’s counter move. Eventually they had to put the game on “hold” after Tenko got so frustrated she nearly threw a controller out the window.

 

After enjoying the various dishes Kirumi and Rantaro cooked for the party, Kaede brings out a double chocolate cake topped with strawberries and pieces of shaved chocolate. Nineteen birthday candles each burned brightly as Kaede places the cake down on the kitchen table. With Shuichi leading them, the party’s attendees all sing a traditional birthday song for their favorite troublemaker. _“I think_ this _is what was missing from my birthday last year…whatever_ this _is, I hope it can continue on like the way it is now”_ he smiles at his thought, shedding a tear of happiness as his gues-his _friends_ finish their song and Shuichi pecks him on the cheek. Everyone claps for Kokichi as he blows out the candles.     

 

“So what’d you wish for bro?” Kaito asks he pounds his fists together.

 

Kokichi winks “Uh-uh I can’t tell youuu~, otherwise it won’t come true you big dummy!” While Katio yells out his offense to the insult, the birthday boy chuckles to himself at the so-called “hero” falling for such an easy lie.

 

He didn’t wish on the candles. All he could ever ask for was already in the room with him right now.

 

As the evening turns to night more of his friends take off from the party until only Kaito, Maki, and Daisy are left. Kokichi looks over at the pile of opened presents on the table: the _Persona 5_ dancing game from Kirumi (which also held the two tickets to New York and some travel money Rantaro and his parents pitched in for Kokichi and Shuichi), a camera from Tenko and Himiko, two stuffed penguins dressed like him and Shuichi that Kaede got her roommate to make for her, a new scarf from Gonta, a box from Miu he refused to open because he had a feeling he knew what she got him, and a Panta dispenser from Keebo.

 

Kokichi walks over to the couch to join the others, making sure he cuddles up with Shuichi. Shuichi brings up that because it’s a bit of a longer drive back for Kaito, Maki, and Daisy, especially with how late it is, he offered them to stay over for the night since they could sleep in his former roommate’s room. The former astronaut offers Kokichi a ride back to their hometown in the morning, which the former supreme leader does initially consider. However, Shuichi informs Kaito that he’ll actually be traveling back to his hometown in a few days to begin a summer job, and because their cities are only about half an hour apart he wouldn’t mind dropping off Kokichi on the way down. The boys easily approve of Shuichi’s suggestion considering everyone was still happy in the end; Maki didn’t really care for either option and just wanted to get into bed already. But even she can’t help but shed a small smile when she looks at how happy Kaito and Shuichi are with the resolution. She and Kokichi…just aren’t there yet…but a _very_ small portion of her hopes the tension between them can disappear in the future.  

 

The couples start to make their way towards their rooms for the night until Kokichi runs over to Kaito and wraps him in a hug. The taller man is taken by surprise, but returns the smaller boy’s hug when he feels him bury his face in his chest “I’m…really happy you came to see me Kaito…thank you...”

 

Kaito smiles down at Kokichi and ruffles the already messy curls of purple hair below him “Don’t mention little bro…I’m just glad you were able to have fun today!”

 

_Yeah…it really was fun, and it was all thanks to you and everyone else who showed up._

 

* * *

 

After wishing Kaito and Maki a good night the couple makes their way into Shuichi’s room for the night. Kokichi sighs happily after having such an eventful day “Could today possibly get any better?” His question is met with a pair of arms wrapping around his waist, hugging him from behind.

 

When he feels Shuichi’s lips on his neck, Kokichi turns his head to the side to properly allow himself to return the kiss. “Well…I could think of _few_ things to make this night more memorable…” damn with that sultry tone in Shuichi’s voice and the warm breath against his skin Kokichi just wants to get a jumpstart on whatever tonight has in store for them. How would sex fare for them tonight? At the very least it’s starting out differently than usual.

 

Turning around to face his boyfriend, Kokichi can’t resist the perfect opportunity to tease the boy “Oh? Then I guess you denied public bondage because you had some… _nastier_ things in mind for tonight, huh _Mr. Detective~_?” He tiptoes up to lightly suck on Shuichi’s Adam’s apple while wrapping one of his legs around his waist.     

 

Rather than show any embarrassment like Kokichi expected, Shuichi grabs his shorter boyfriend’s chin and crashes their lips together while using his free hand to lightly squeeze at the boy’s butt, making him squeak softly. “You got me figured out, _Mr. Phantom Thief_.” Kokichi can practically feel the smirk Shuichi is giving him right now and its making him feel even hotter.

 

_Well played Shuichi Saihara, well played._

 

Not one to be shown up, the purple-haired boy meets the other’s lips once again, fiercely crashing their tongues together as the boys fight over control in this heated kiss. Their lips continue to smack against each other as they fumble towards Shuichi’s bed, the taller boy focuses on undoing Kokichi’s shorts while the shorter boy works on removing the shirt off the raven-haired boy’s body.

 

Having not stopped their make out session during the intense stripping process, the couple ceases their kiss to gasp for air. With the moon as the room’s sole light source the two can faintly see the string of saliva that once connected their lips disappear onto Shuichi’s chest. Even if they can’t fully _see_ each other, tonight is all about what their bodies can _feel_.  

Shuichi decides to make the first move, slowly moving his hands down Kokichi’s back until they reach his butt. He playfully squeezes the mounds in his hands which causes the other boy to grind his crotch against Shuichi’s knee, biting his hand in an attempt to stop his lewd noises from becoming too loud.

 

Becoming increasingly aware of his own panting, Kokichi shoves Shuichi onto his back, latching onto his thighs as he goes to town on the boy’s chest. Starting by kissing a trail down Shuichi’s chest until he reaches his boyfriend’s navel, Kokichi decides to show just how big of a tease he is by lapping at the boy’s navel area with his tongue while using one of his free hands to trace along the small happy trail of hair leading into Shuichi’s pants. At the same time, he uses his second free hand to tweak and pull at his boyfriend’s exposed nipples. Just when Shuichi thinks he can handle the pleasure, Kokichi takes him by surprise by suddenly biting one of his nipples while thumbing at the other nub. The sudden pain mixed with pleasure forces Shuichi to bite down on his own lip, preventing him from screaming out in ecstasy and waking up his houseguests.

 

Feeling himself become increasingly more excited, Shuichi grabs a fistful of Kokichi’s hair and raises the boy up so he bring their lips together. While Kokichi’s tongue explores his mouth Shuichi raises the two of them up into a sitting position, adjusting Kokichi to where he’s sitting on his lap. Now able to feel the shared excitement between him and his boyfriend Shuichi pulls away from the kiss and starts to leave small pecks on Kokichi’s collar bone. Kokichi continues to straddle the ravenette’s thigh while the taller boy beings to assault his neck with light kisses, eliciting a small moan from Kokichi when starts to nibble behind the shorter boy’s ear.

 

“Ngh….Shuichi…” he pants out, face feeling flushed as he runs his hands up Shuichi’s bare chest and kisses his cheek while his crotch continues to have a mind of its own “if you keep that up I m-m-might get too loud…and…ngh…K-Kaito and Maki are sleeping in the other room…”

 

Rather than take the foreplay down a notch, Shuichi chooses to slowly drag his tongue behind his boyfriend’s ear making the smaller boy grind into his lap. Shuichi is _rarely_ one to tease or talk dirty but as he starts nibbling up Kokichi’s neck, the other boy practically melting from the sheer amount of pleasure, Shuichi whispers into his ear “… **Then let them hear you** …” before biting into the lower part of his lover’s neck.  

 

Taken by surprise at Shuichi’s boldness, Kokichi barely has enough time to cover up his mouth to muffle out his lust-filled cry. He wasn’t gonna lie though, seeing Shuichi be so daring in bed for a change was _really_ turning him on. He really hopes to see more of this from his boyfriend in their…future sessions.

 

Kokichi pushes Shuichi hard onto his back, but remains in his straddling position as he starts to feel the night’s pent up lust edging closer and closer to breaking loose. “Sh-Shuichi…”

 

“Y-Yeah?”

 

He leans down, resting his forehead on top of Shuichi’s “…Let’s make this a night we’ll _both_ remember…”

 

“…You took the words right out of my mouth…”

 

And with one more kiss, their night of passionate love-making finally began.

 

* * *

 

The couple lay in Shuichi’s bed, their session of passion having long been over yet they were still panting and sweating as if only five minutes had passed since they finished. As they lay with their naked limbs entangled together Kokichi rests his head on Shuichi’s chest, turning his attention on their matching forearm tattoos. He smiles up at who went above and beyond for him today, the markings on their forearms being definitive proof of that. Positing himself to lay on top of Shuichi, Kokichi leans down to capture his boyfriend in a kiss. “Shuichi, this has been one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had…thank you.”

 

His head lowers itself against the warmth of Shuichi’s chest, appreciating the steady beat of the boy’s heart as finally begins to drift to sleep. “Anything for the boy I love…for me you’ll always deserve the world Kokichi.”

 

“But Shuichi, why would I want the whole world when I already have you?” Kokichi replies without much of a second thought.

 

Instead of answering Shuichi wraps his arms around the boy’s back, kissing his head one more time before he finally shuts his eyes.

 

_Today really was the best day I could ever imagine…_

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be way SHORTER and it came out to nearly the same length as one chapter of my ongoing fic.... why do I have to write too much instead of just getting to the point!??! ¯\\(°_o)/¯


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